Bitcoiners help US authorities to understand cryptocurrency and the results are encouraging

Very productive and positive. That’s how Patrick Murck, general counselor for the Bitcoin Foundation, described the meeting that took place this Monday (26) between representatives from the Bitcoin community and seven North-American government departments. The goal was to discuss the regulation of cryptocurrency.

Patrick Murck

All the participants integrated a “productive and frank” debate about the status of digital currency. “It was a positive first step for the industry in creating an open and on-going dialog. I left feeling very encouraged that we were able to dispel some myths and misinformation about how the Bitcoin protocol works”, Murck said to Coindesk.

Lots of topics like law enforcement and governmental control were discussed at the meeting that happened in the US Treasury Department building, in Washington DC. According to Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at Cato Institute, the attendees “talked about how the weight of regulation in the US can, and does, drive Bitcoin service providers to move outside of the country”.

Jim Harper

One of the goals of the meeting was to show the authorities how cryptocurrency and the blockchain work. “Most people were sceptical, but open-minded and fair. (…) I counselled against the practice of spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about Bitcoin, which is already all too common. It’s not OK to talk Bitcoin down without a factual basis”, Harper adds.

The next move should be made by the US authorities. If the regulators decide to set harsh rules, the Bitcoin ecosystem might suffer a hard hit since the country holds the majority of cryptocurrency users. After this first event, the Bitcoin Foundation attended a new meeting at Capitol Hill this Tuesday (27) to continue discussing legal issues connected to cryptocurrency.

Maria is an experienced journalist currently living in the UK. She has been writing about Bitcoin and the altcoin universe since 2013. She is also a member of the Lifeboat Foundation's New Money Systems Board and a big cryptocurrency supporter.